WHY CAN'T I GET THIS TO FIRE?

1971 Jeep CJ5 • 130,000 miles

So I have a 71 CJ5. It has a Buick V6 Dauntless 225. I had to pull the engine apart to replace all the gaskets as it leaked like a sieve. Put it back together checked the timing. It cranks over and almost fires but will not run. The distributor has a vacuum advance. As it turns over there is no dragging. How ever it is back firing threw the headers.(P.S. There is no mufflers on it waiting for them to be shipped). I've tried all sort of stuff. Hoping there might be a simple answer that I might have overlooked. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Yes the distributor had to be removed. According to the manual it had to be set to 5 degrees for btdc. I marked the distributor and the block before I pulled it. Everything lines up. So it turns over but is dragging. Messed around with the vac advance till it was turning steady. But still not firing. Tried the two caps of gas still turns. No fire!So I pulled it back out and put the mark to 0 degrees btdc.I repeated the process. (It has a brand new rotter & cap.)That's when it started to backfire threw the headers. It ran when I bought it. Barely. Had to replace the gas tank as it had some awesomely huge holes in it. It was always temperamental to start. Unfortunately the person who had it before me tore out the manual tranie and put in an automatic.(BIG BUMMER)! Still has the clutch petal though!
I bought it for a project. Cuz your never done with a jeep!And yes I love my jeep! However my truck is on hiatus so I need to have this tuned in by the end of the week as I have to use it for my commuter to school. Thank you for any advice you may have!

I replaced every gasket. Timing cover, intake manifold, water pump, valve covers, oil pan ect. (& I did put fluids back in it)lol! The person who owned it before me had it rebuilt. It has all new guts! However when they put everything back together the did a very piss poor job! I do have a timing light. No meter.

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you! So I watched the videos. I started from scratch. Found top dead center & went threw the process. It still wont fire. I tested the ignition coil & the reading were all over the place so I just replaced it. & Went threw the process again. Still will crank but wont fire. Its still is backfiring threw the exhaust. I have not touched the carb but when it is turning over you can smell gas. With & without the choke on. Like it is flooded. I have tested the battery, the ignition coil (witch I replaced)Replaced the spark plugs & re gaped, replaced the spark plug wires. It has a new cap & roter. I have checked & cleaned ALL of the wire connections under the hood & the dash. Could there be something else I could be missing?

I THOUGHT MAYBE I HAD POSTED IT ON THE WRONG POST, BY MISTAKE.I LOOKED A BUNCH OVER, I DON'T SEE IT ANYWHERE

IT SEEMS TO BE GONE. COULD BE THE NEW REMODELED 2CAR SITE--OR MAYBE CENSORED?

I JUST CAME BACK TO CHECK ON YOU AND NOTICED IT IS NOT HERE.I WILL TRY TO RE-DO IT AGAIN IN THE MORNING

HAVE YOU MADE ANY PROGRESS SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE

YOU HAVE NOT MENTIONED POINTS? DOES YOURS HAVE 'EM? DO KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY INSTALL THEM AND SET THEM.I CAN HELP THERE TOO. OR DO YOU HAVE ELECTRONIC IGNITION (IF SO, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE SYSTEM?) LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE

Nope no novel! I wrote something before the last post & it didn't post either. NO biggie!
So on a more positive note. I finally got that old CJ purring like a kitten!( A very loud kitten)
don't know what exactly I did. Just kept going threw the timing. Again and again. Finally tonight I got it!
I can pull that distributor and put that clip back on in like a minute now! Lol!
THANK YOU so much for all your help! Maybe catch you out on the trail sometime!

SOMETIMES THINGS CLICK IN---I MIGHT LOOK AT A PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME---WALK AWAY FOR AN HOUR--THEN COME BACK WITH A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE--THEN WAH-LAH!

IN THE FUTURE--IF YOU SPECIFICALLY WANNA SEEK ME OUT...JUST RETURN TO THIS POST

YOU MIGHT ALSO WANNA LOOK AT THE OTHER 2CARPROS CJ 5 & CJ 7 FORUMS---I SORTA "DOMINATE" IN ANSWERING THEM FOR THE LAST 2 OR MORE YEARS...SOME ARE OVER 100 RESPONSES LONG AND ARE JAM-PACKED W/ GOOD INFO......JUST ONE EXAMPLE BELOW